Protest Over Food Quality At U.P. Prison

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Several hundred inmates at the Marquette Branch Prison recently held what’s being called a ‘passive level demonstration’ to protest the food that’s being served to them.

Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Gautz says the demonstration took place during dinner on May 24th.

Of the 500 level one inmates that usually eat dinner, only 139 of them showed up to eat.

Reverend Edward Pinkney, an inmate at the prison, called the food “deplorable”.

Trinity Services Group is the state’s current prison food service provider.

The company signed a $158 million contract with the state last year, after the state’s deal with another food service provider, Aramark Correctional Services, was terminated after 18 months.

Back in March, the Detroit Free Press reported that 1,000 inmates at the Kinross Correctional Facility in the eastern U.P. staged a silent protest over the food that was being served.

Gautz added that since the state switched to Trinity, there have been less stop orders and food substitutions.